Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tonsure"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tonsure \Ton"sure\, n. [F., fr. L. tonsura a shearing, clipping,
from tondere, tonsum, to shear, shave; cf. Gr. ? to gnaw;
perhaps akin to Gr. ? to cut, and E. tome.]
1. The act of clipping the hair, or of shaving the crown of
the head; also, the state of being shorn.
2. (R. C. Ch.)
(a) The first ceremony used for devoting a person to the
service of God and the church; the first degree of the
clericate, given by a bishop, abbot, or cardinal
priest, consisting in cutting off the hair from a
circular space at the back of the head, with prayers
and benedictions; hence, entrance or admission into
minor orders.
(b) The shaven corona, or crown, which priests wear as a
mark of their order and of their rank.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tonsure
n 1: the shaved crown of a monk's or priest's head
2: shaving the crown of the head by priests or members of a
monastic order
v : shave the head of a newly inducted monk
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